Pick InMotion Hosting if you price reseller hosting by client capacity; pick HostGator if you want a simple, familiar reseller setup with generous bandwidth tiers. HostGator markets reseller hosting with WHM, cPanel, private name servers, and WHMCS billing support, which matters if you plan to sell hosting under your own brand [source: HostGator].
TLDR: For a small web designer hosting 20 client sites, InMotion Hosting often gives cleaner math because its reseller plans commonly publish cPanel account limits such as 25, 50, or 80 accounts. HostGator can look attractive when you care more about bandwidth and a familiar WHM setup than strict account planning. Example: if you charge 20 clients $25 per month, that is $500 in monthly revenue, so even a $35 reseller plan leaves room for support, billing software, and profit. Watch renewal pricing closely, because a “cheap” promo can jump by 40% to 100% after the first term.
Reseller hosting pricing is never just the sticker price. You are buying storage, bandwidth, cPanel access, support quality, billing tools, and the right to split server resources across clients. The annoying part is that providers often shout the promo price and whisper the renewal price. It drives me crazy that you may need to click through two or three checkout screens just to see the real long-term cost.
Quick pricing picture
Both HostGator and InMotion Hosting sell reseller hosting for agencies, freelancers, small IT shops, and side hustlers. The plans usually sit between shared hosting and VPS hosting. You do not manage a full server. You do sell hosting accounts to your own customers.
| Provider | Typical entry focus | Best for | Pricing concern |
|---|---|---|---|
| HostGator | Storage and bandwidth tiers | Simple reseller hosting with WHM and cPanel | Renewal rates and add-on details |
| InMotion Hosting | Account limits, SSD or NVMe storage, bundled tools | Agencies planning client counts | Higher tiers may be needed as client count grows |
HostGator reseller pricing: simple, familiar, but check renewals
HostGator has long been a common name in reseller hosting. Its plans are often built around named tiers such as Aluminum, Copper, and Silver. Traditionally, those tiers have offered resources like 60 GB, 90 GB, and 140 GB of disk space, with bandwidth tiers that scale upward as you pay more.
The upside is simplicity. If you have used cPanel before, HostGator feels familiar. WHM lets you create packages, assign disk space, suspend accounts, and set account limits. WHMCS support is also useful if you want automated invoices, client signups, and payment collection.
The problem is price clarity. HostGator often looks strongest during the first term. After that, renewal pricing can change the math. If your promo rate is around $25 per month and renewal moves closer to $35 or $40, that may not hurt a mature reseller business. But for someone with only five paying clients, it can sting.
- Good fit: designers who want a known brand and standard cPanel workflow.
- Less ideal: users who need clear per-client cost planning from day one.
- Watch closely: WHMCS terms, backup rules, renewal rates, and any cPanel account limits.
InMotion Hosting reseller pricing: better structure for agencies
InMotion Hosting tends to appeal to people who want clearer resource planning. Its reseller plans often show defined cPanel account limits, such as 25, 50, or 80 accounts, depending on the tier. That alone makes budgeting easier. You can divide the monthly plan cost by the number of client accounts and see your rough hosting cost per customer.
For example, if a plan costs $30 per month and allows 25 client accounts, the raw hosting cost is $1.20 per account before support time, payment fees, taxes, and software. If you sell basic hosting care at $20 per month, the margin can be healthy. Of course, not every client uses the same resources. One busy WooCommerce store can consume more attention than ten brochure sites.
InMotion also tends to push SSD or NVMe storage, free site transfers on some packages, white-label features, and reseller-friendly support. Its reseller hosting page lists WHM, cPanel, and white-label selling features [source: InMotion Hosting].
The catch is that clearer limits can feel restrictive. If your business grows fast, you may hit account caps before you hit storage or bandwidth caps. Then you move up a tier even if your server usage still feels light. That is not always bad. It keeps performance steadier. Still, it can feel irritating when your 26th tiny client site forces an upgrade.
Which one is cheaper?
HostGator may look cheaper at first glance. This is especially true when a long introductory discount is active. If your main goal is to start under a low monthly price, HostGator can be tempting.
InMotion may be cheaper per client when you fill the plan. The math works better when you know how many accounts you can host. If you buy a 50-account plan and use 40 accounts, your cost per account can be low and predictable.
Here is a practical way to compare:
- Find the renewal price, not only the promo price.
- Check cPanel account limits, because licensing costs changed reseller hosting economics.
- Divide monthly cost by expected clients, not maximum clients.
- Add billing software costs if WHMCS is not included or has limits.
- Estimate support time, because one needy client can erase the profit from five quiet ones.
Real-world pricing scenario
Say you are a freelance designer with 15 maintenance clients. You charge each client $30 per month for hosting, updates, and light email support. That gives you $450 per month in revenue.
If your reseller plan costs $35 per month, your hosting platform cost is only 7.8% of revenue. That sounds great. But add WHMCS, payment fees, backups, malware scanning, and one hour of support time. Suddenly, the true cost may sit closer to $80 to $120 per month.
In that setup, both providers can work. HostGator makes sense if you want a low-friction start. InMotion makes sense if you plan to grow past 20 or 30 clients and want cleaner account planning.
Performance and support affect price too
A cheap reseller plan is not cheap if your clients complain every week. Slow dashboards, email issues, SSL confusion, and backup limits create hidden costs. Expect to waste time on support chats if you skip the fine print. Even a 12-minute delay per ticket adds up fast when you manage dozens of sites.
HostGator’s support setup is broad and familiar. That helps beginners. InMotion often gets attention from agency users who want a more business-focused feature set. Neither host is perfect. Shared reseller hosting still means shared resources. If you host heavy WordPress stores, membership sites, or high-traffic blogs, a reseller VPS may be a better fit.
Best choice by buyer type
- Beginner reseller: HostGator is easier to understand and often cheaper to test.
- Freelance web designer: InMotion is strong because account limits make planning cleaner.
- Small agency: InMotion usually wins if you expect steady client growth.
- Side project seller: HostGator may be enough if price matters more than structure.
- Performance-sensitive seller: Compare higher reseller tiers or VPS reseller plans from both.
The smart move is to price reseller hosting like a business cost, not a bargain hunt. HostGator is attractive for a simple start and familiar tools. InMotion Hosting is stronger for client-based planning and agency-style growth. Before buying, calculate your cost per real client, check renewal pricing, and leave room for support time. That is where the real reseller hosting price shows up.